Time and task based validation to enable or disable parental controls

ABSTRACT

Approaches are provided for to enabling or disabling parental controls based on time or task validation using a centralized computing environment. An approach includes receiving parental control rules for one or more computing devices. The approach further includes publishing the parental control rules to each of the one or more computing devices to enable the parental control rules on each of the one or more computing devices. The approach further includes determining whether at least one of completion of a task is validated, and the current time is outside of a specified time. The approach further includes at least one of when the completion of the task is validated, and the current time is outside of the specified time period, publishing a parental control disable command to each of the one or more computing devices to disable at least one of the parental control rules.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The technical character of the present invention generally relates toparental controls, and more particularly, to systems and methods toenable or disable parental controls based on time or task validationusing a centralized computing environment.

BACKGROUND

Many types of devices, such as mobile phones, tablet devices, and othercomputing, communication, and entertainment devices increasingly offermore functions, applications, and features which are beneficial to auser, and can enhance one's personal time as well as work and socialactivities. For example, not only can a mobile phone be used for text,email, and voice communications, but may also be used for entertainment,such as to listen to music, surf the Internet, watch video content,gaming, and for photo and video imaging. Similarly, a portable tabletdevice may be utilized for email, browser, navigation, and othercomputing applications, as well as for the various entertainment andphoto features. In addition to the many computing, communication, andentertainment applications that are available to a user of a mobilephone or tablet device, a seemingly unlimited number of third-partyapplications and features are also available for download to a device

It is common for families to be multitasking between tasks using thesemany types of devices such as entertainment (TV, gaming, mobile devices,etc.), school work (personal computing devices, mobile devices, etc.),and so on. Sometimes multitasking can divert concentration, take longerto complete work, or result in erroneous work output. As parents orguardians of children and teenagers, there is a desire to block time anddistractions to allow children and teenagers to focus on completinghomework or studying. For example, a parent wants their child orteenager to focus on solving mathematics and science homework when theycome home from school rather than watching TV or playing video games.Accordingly, there is a desire for activities such as social networking,non-school work related websites, gaming related devices andapplications, phone calls, text messaging, etc. to be restricted on oneor more computing devices until homework is complete.

Traditionally, depending on the device type, some computing devices mayprovide for the ability to enable or disable parental controls. However,there are a couple of drawbacks with the traditional solutions. Forexample, each computing device must be configured individually withparental controls, which is time consuming. Further, the parentalcontrols in existing solutions do not have a validation concept of taskcompletion prior to usage. For these example parental control systems,they are largely based on configurable time restrictions that are notcentrally managed across devices.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the invention, a method is implemented in acomputer infrastructure having computer executable code tangiblyembodied on a computer readable storage medium having programminginstructions operable to: publish parental control rules to each of oneor more computing devices to enable the parental control rules on eachof the one or more computing devices, wherein at least one of theparental control rules includes at least one of: (i) a requirement thata task be completed prior to allowing use of one or more features orfunctions on the one or more computing devices, and (ii) a requirementthat a current time be outside of a specified time period prior toallowing use of the one or more features or functions on the one or morecomputing devices; determine whether at least one of: (i) completion ofthe task is validated, and (ii) the current time is outside of thespecified time period; and when at least one of: (i) the completion ofthe task is validated and (ii) the current time is outside of thespecified time period, publish a parental control disable command toeach of the one or more computing devices to disable the at least one ofthe parental control rules published to each of the one or morecomputing devices.

In another aspect of the invention, a computer program product isprovided for disabling at least one parental control rule on a computingdevice. The computer program product comprises a computer readablestorage medium having program instructions embodied therewith. Thecomputer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, andthe program instructions are readable by the computing device to causethe computing device to perform a method comprising: enabling one ormore parental control rules on the computing device, wherein at leastone parental control rule of the enabled one or more parental controlrules includes a requirement that a task be completed prior to allowinguse of one or more blocked features or functions on the one or morecomputing devices; allowing use of one or more allowed features orfunctions on the computing device to complete the task; submitting thetask to a task validation system to validate the task is completed; andwhen the task is completed and validated, receiving a parental controldisable command and disabling the at least one parental control rule toallow use of the one or more blocked features or functions.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a system is provided for thatincludes a CPU, a computer readable memory and a computer readablestorage medium. The system further includes program instructions to:receive parental control rules for one or more computing devices,wherein at least one of the parental control rules includes at least oneof: (i) a requirement that a task be completed prior to allowing use ofone or more features or functions on the one or more computing devices,and (ii) a requirement that a current time be outside of a specifiedtime period prior to allowing use of the one or more features orfunctions on the one or more computing devices; publish the parentalcontrol rules to each of the one or more computing devices to enable theparental control rules on each of the one or more computing devices;program instructions to determine whether at least one of: (i)completion of the task is validated, and (ii) the current time isoutside of the specified time period; program instructions to when atleast one of: (i) the completion of the task is validated, and (ii) thecurrent time is outside of the specified time period, publish a parentalcontrol disable command to each of the one or more computing devices todisable the at least one of the parental control rules published to eachof the one or more computing devices. The program instructions arestored on the computer readable storage medium for execution by the CPUvia the computer readable memory.

In a further aspect of the invention, a system comprises a CPU, acomputer readable memory and a computer readable storage medium andprogram instructions to: publish parental control rules to each of oneor more computing devices to enable the parental control rules on eachof the one or more computing devices, wherein the parental control rulesinclude a requirement that a task be completed prior to allowing use ofone or more features or functions on the one or more computing devices;validate the completion of the task; and upon validating, provide aparental control disable command to each of the one or more computingdevices to allow access to the one or more features or functions on theone or more computing devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in the detailed description whichfollows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing node according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a cloud computing environment according to embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts abstraction model layers according to embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 shows a high level architecture for implementing processes inaccordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIGS. 5-7 show exemplary flows in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technical character of the present invention generally relates toparental controls, and more particularly, to systems and methods toenable or disable parental controls based on time or task validationusing a centralized computing environment. More specifically, thepresent invention provides systems and methods that implement technicalfeatures such as a centralized parental control system (e.g., a cloudbased centralized management of parental controls) and a time or taskbased validation application server and application that interoperate toallow users (e.g., parents or guardians) to implement parental controlrules to validate that another user's (e.g., their child's orteenager's) tasks such as homework are completed prior to automaticactivation of device usage (e.g., mobile phone, TV, unrestrictedcomputer Internet usage, etc.) for entertainment. In embodiments, thesystems and methods are configured to centrally manage and defineparental control rules for one or more devices including theauthorization or restriction of one or more multitasking activities onthe one or more devices based on time or task validation. The systemsand methods are also configured to centrally disable or enable theparental control rules such that the one or more multitasking activitiesare authorized or restricted on the one or more devices based on thetime or task validation. Consequently, the systems and methods of thepresent invention provide an automated business rule based system toenable or disable parental controls using a centralized computingenvironment.

In embodiments, the systems and methods may also be configured tovalidate the time or task before authorizing the one or moremultitasking activities on the one or more devices. For example, theparent or guardian may define the parental control rules for users anddevices during specified time periods or based on the completion ofvarious tasks or assignments. The parent control rules may be publishedfrom the centralized validation application server to the standardsbased parental control application on the devices being managed.Thereafter, the one or more multitasking activities are authorized orrestricted on the one or more devices based on the specified timeperiods or depending on the completion of various tasks or assignments.The expiration of the specified time period is validated using atemporal device such as an internal clock on the one or more devices,and the completion of the various tasks or assignments may be validatedusing any number of methods including an electronic quiz, submission ofwork product, manual validation, etc.

The advantage of the aforementioned technical solution for centrallymanaging and implementing parental controls is that it will eliminatethe technical problems of having to manually configure each device withthe parental controls and the inability to validate that a task has beencompleted prior to usage of the device for one or more multitaskingactivities. For example, implementations of the present inventionprovide a technical contribution over conventional parental controlsystems and methods because the technical features of the presentinvention interoperate to enable or disable parental controls based ontime or task validation using a centralized computing environment toimprove the concentration level of users (e.g., children and teenagers)without taking away the ability of the users to use the devices forpurposes of school work. The present invention is particularly ofrelevance to balancing work and entertainment time of children andteenagers, and more broadly, to balancing “screen time” of children andteenagers, and thus allowing children and teenagers to be empowered tocomplete tasks and have the one or more devices automatically enabledfor entertainment purposes.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic of an example of a cloud computingnode is shown. Cloud computing node 10 is only one example of a suitablecloud computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as tothe scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein. Regardless, cloud computing node 10 is capable ofbeing implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forthhereinabove. FIG. 1 can also represent a computing infrastructurecapable of performing and/or implementing tasks and/or functions of themethods described herein.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server 12, whichis operational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 1, computer system/server 12 in cloud computing node 10is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 12 may include, but are not limitedto, one or more processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28,and a bus 18 that couples various system components including systemmemory 28 to processor 16. In embodiments, the computer system/server 12comprises or communicates with a centralized parental controlapplication 80 as described in greater detail herein.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein. Forexample, some or all of the functions of a centralized parental controlapplication 80 can be implemented as one or more of the program modules42. Additionally, the centralized parental control application 80 may beimplemented as separate dedicated processors or a single or severalprocessors to provide the functionality described herein. Inembodiments, the centralized parental control application 80 performsone or more of the processes described herein, including but not limitedto: managing accounts of users, centrally managing parental controlrules for one or more devices, and publishing the parental control rulesto the one or more devices.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via I/O interfaces22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 can communicate with one ormore networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide areanetwork (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via networkadapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20 communicates with the othercomponents of computer system/server 12 via bus 18. It should beunderstood that although not shown, other hardware and/or softwarecomponents could be used in conjunction with computer system/server 12.Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers,redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID (redundantarray of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks)systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 3, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 2) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 3 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include mainframes, in oneexample IBM® zSeries® systems; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)architecture based servers, in one example IBM pSeries® systems; IBMxSeries® systems; IBM BladeCenter® systems; storage devices; networksand networking components. Examples of software components includenetwork application server software, in one example IBM WebSphere®application server software; and database software, in one example IBMDB2® database software. (IBM, zSeries, pSeries, xSeries, BladeCenter,WebSphere, and DB2 are trademarks of International Business MachinesCorporation registered in many jurisdictions worldwide).

Virtualization layer 62 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers;virtual storage; virtual networks, including virtual private networks;virtual applications and operating systems; and virtual clients.

In one example, management layer 64 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning provides dynamic procurement of computingresources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks withinthe cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing provide costtracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computingenvironment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management providescloud computing resource allocation and management such that requiredservice levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning andfulfillment provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloudcomputing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated inaccordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 66 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation; software development and lifecycle management; virtualclassroom education delivery; data analytics processing; transactionprocessing; and centralized parental control. In accordance with aspectsof the invention, the centralized parental control workload/functionoperates to perform one or more of the processes described herein,including but not limited to provide a parental control based on whethera time has elapsed or a certain task has been performed.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

FIG. 4 is a high level architecture for implementing processes inaccordance with aspects of the present invention. In embodiments, acomputing system 100 includes a centralized parental control system 105comprising a centralized parental control application 110 installedthereon, a task based validation application server 115, and a standardsbased parent control application 120 installed on each of the one ormore computing devices 125 that interoperate to allow users to implementparental control rules to validate that another user's tasks such ashomework are completed prior to automatic activation of one or moreadditional applications 130 on the one or more computing devices 125. Inembodiments, the centralized parental control system 105 can beimplemented as a cloud based centralized management system such as cloudcomputing node 10 discussed with respect to FIG. 1. In otherembodiments, the centralized parental control system 105 can beimplemented on a local computing device such as a home WiFi router. Inembodiments in which the centralized parental control system 105 isimplemented as a cloud based centralized management system, thestandards based parent control application 120 installed on each of theone or more computing devices 125 would require wide area network (WAN)connectivity such as the Internet. In other embodiments in which thecentralized parental control system 105 is implemented as a local WiFi,the standards based parent control application 120 installed on each ofthe one or more computing devices 125 would only require local areanetwork (LAN) connectivity such as local WiFi.

The centralized parental control application 110 (e.g., centralizedparental control application 80 discussed with respect to FIG. 1) isinstalled as a rules based web application in the centralized parentalcontrol system 105 and is configured to provide for centralizedmanagement of the one or more computing devices 125. The centralizedparental control application 110 is accessible by standard web protocols(http/https) from a web browser client or custom application usinghttp/https protocols. Additionally, communication from the centralizedparental control application 110 to manage the one or more computingdevices 125 may be performed using a standardized protocol (e.g., CommonManagement Information Protocol (CMIP) defined by open systemsinterconnection (OSI)). The centralized parental control application 110is also configured to allow for entry point time or task based parentalcontrol rules and integration through events/message to initiate theparental control rules being enabled/disable.

The task based validation application server 115 is any computing deviceconfigured to validate that a task has been completed. When the task iscompleted and verified, the task based validation application server 115may be further configured to send or trigger a message (e.g., a messagewithin an email) being sent to a user that they have completed the tasksuccessfully or unsuccessfully. There may be any number (e.g., 1−n) oftask based validation application servers 115. In embodiments, the taskbased validation application server 115 may be an extension of a schoolsystem application used by teachers and students. For example, eachschool system could have a separate system to allow students toelectronically submit and validate homework. In additional oralternative embodiments, a third party such as a service provider couldprovide this service for the user and/or for school systems.

As should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, manyschool systems already have the ability for students to have onlineaccounts to obtain class grades, obtain homework assignments, checkclass schedules and calendars, and submit homework. Aspects of thepresent invention are configured to leverage these systems to obtainvalidation that tasks are completed such that parental controls on theone or more computing devices 125 may be enabled or disabledaccordingly. Some types of assignments are better suited than others forelectronic submission and validation. Depending on the type ofassignment, there may be implemented different types of validation. Forpurposes of illustration, a requirement to provide answers to questionsin an electronic quiz can be implemented via the task based validationapplication server 115 to validate that a task has been completed. If ahomework assignment is related to reading a chapter for history,science, etc. then implementing an electronic quiz where the student hasto select from multiple choice questions pertaining to the readingmaterial could be used to provide validation of completion of thereading task. Additionally, a requirement for submission of anassignment can be implemented via the task based validation applicationserver 115 to validate that a task has been completed.

If a homework assignment is a paper that has been defined to be 3-5pages, entered in a specific document type, and submitted to the schoolsystem web site, then implementing a submission check system that checksthe homework document is submitted to the school system web site,verifies the document extension as the specific document type, andqueries the content page length to verify the submitted document is 3-5pages could be used to provide validation of completion of the papertask. Moreover, a requirement for manual validation by a user or thirdparty can be implemented via the task based validation applicationserver 115 to validate that a task has been completed. If a projectneeds to be completed, then implementing a manual check (e.g., a manualcheck via a parent or teacher) of the completeness of the project andelectronic verification (e.g., electronic validation by the parent orteacher that the project is completed) could be used to providevalidation of completion of the project.

The standards based parent control application 120 is installed on eachof the one or more computing devices 125 and is configured to provideparental controls on each of the one or more computing devices 125,which can be managed centrally. In embodiments, each of the one or morecomputing devices 125 is network accessible such that the centralizedparental control application 110 can manage the parental controls oneach of the one or more computing devices 125 via the standards basedparent control application 120. Specifically, in addition to theparental controls on each of the one or more computing devices 125, eachof the one or more computing devices 125 includes an agent that adoptsthe network management protocol CMIP that allows the centralizedparental control application 110 to manage the parental controls on eachof the one or more computing devices 125.

In embodiments, the standards based parent control application 120includes the following functions or features: (i) identify each of theone or more devices 125 by name or internet protocol (IP) address,register each of the one or more computing devices 125 with thecentralized parental control application 110, apply centralized parentalcontrols to each of the one or more computing devices 125,enable/disable the parental controls on each of the one or morecomputing devices 125, time based parental controls to restrict accessduring specified time periods, task based parent controls to receivemessages or events that tasks have been completed to enable use of theone or more additional applications 130, and allow users to definespecific uses (e.g., use of a laptop web browser to access websites onthe Internet to complete a homework task) of the one or more computingdevices 125 during parental control time periods. In additionalembodiments, the standards based parent control application 120 furtherincludes an authentication requirement feature whereby a user of each ofthe one or more computing devices 125 needs to identify themselves suchthat proper parental controls can be applied to each of the one or morecomputing devices 125.

In embodiments, the one or more computing devices 125 may be similar tothe local computing devices 54A-N depicted in FIG. 2. It is understoodthat the types of one or more computing devices 125 shown in FIG. 4 areintended to be illustrative only and that the centralized parentalcontrol system 105 and the task based validation application server 115can communicate with any type of computerized device over any type ofnetwork and/or network addressable connection (e.g., using a webbrowser).

FIGS. 5-7 show exemplary flows for performing aspects of the presentinvention. The steps of FIGS. 5-7 may be implemented in the environmentof FIGS. 1 and 2, for example. As noted above, the flowchart(s)illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possibleimplementations of systems, methods, and computer program products asalready described herein in accordance with the various embodiments ofthe present invention. The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figuresillustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possibleimplementations of systems, methods and computer program productsaccording to various embodiments of the present invention. In thisregard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent amodule, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or moreexecutable instructions for implementing the specified logicalfunction(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware andcomputer instructions.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 200 for centralizedmanagement of parental controls in accordance with aspects of thepresent invention. At step 205, a user may create an account or log intoan existing account on a centralized parental control system. Forexample, a user (e.g., a parent or guardian) may login to a Webinterface of a centralized parental control system (e.g., centralizedparental control system 105 discussed with respect to FIG. 4 ofcentralized parental control system 80 discussed with respect to FIG. 1)to create an account or log into an existing account on a centralizedparental control application (e.g., centralized parental controlapplication 110 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) from a standard Webbrowser using http/https protocol.

At step 210, a user may register one or more computing devices with thecentralized parental control system using their account. For example, auser (e.g., parent or guardian) may use the Web interface of thecentralized parental control system (e.g., centralized parental controlsystem 105 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) to enter a hostname/url ofapplication, and account credentials to register devices (e.g., the oneor more computing devices 225 discussed with respect to FIG. 4 such as amobile phone, smart TV, computer, game console, etc.) to centrallymanage from a standard Web browser using http/https protocol. Inembodiments, from the devices to be managed, the user would install aparental control application (e.g., the standards based parent controlapplication 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) and configure thedevices to communicate with the centralized parental control system.Thereafter, automated management of the devices may be performed by thecentralized parental control system using network management protocolsuch as CMIP.

At step 215, a user may define parental control rules within thecentralized parental control system to control multitasking activities.For example, a user (e.g., parent or guardian) may use the Web interfaceof the centralized parental control system (e.g., centralized parentalcontrol system 105 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) to define differenttime or task based parental control rules to control multitaskingactivities on the registered devices from a standard Web browser usinghttp/https protocol. In embodiments, the parental control rules mayinclude: (i) while studying online or offline subject A, all orspecified possible multitasking activities (e.g., gaming applicationsand media streaming applications) will be blocked; (ii) while studyingonline or offline subject B, all or specified possible multitaskingactivities (e.g., gaming applications and media streaming applications)will be available across all devices; (iii) while studying online oroffline subject C, no activities will be available on specified devicessuch as the television; and (iv) while studying online or offlinesubject D, specified activities will be available on specified devicessuch as outgoing phone calls from a cell phone.

At step 220, the defined parental control rules are published from thecentralized parental control system to the devices. For example, thecentralized parental control application 110 (e.g., centralized parentalcontrol application 110 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) will use thenetwork management protocol to publish the defined parental controlrules to the parental control application (e.g., the standards basedparent control application 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) on eachof the registered devices. In embodiments, the publishing the parentalcontrol rules to the devices causes the parental control rules to beenabled on the devices. In other embodiments, the parental control rulesare enabled by the standards based parent control application (e.g., thestandards based parent control application 120 discussed with respect toFIG. 4).

At step 225, a user may log into one or more of the registered devices.For example, a user (e.g., a child or teenager) may log into one or moreof the registered devices via the parental control application (e.g.,the standards based parent control application 120 discussed withrespect to FIG. 4) installed on each of the registered devices. Inembodiments, the parental control application includes an authenticationrequirement feature whereby a user of each of the devices needs toidentify themselves such that proper parental controls can be applied toeach of the devices. The usage of the devices by the user is nowcentrally managed via the parental controls published to each of thedevices.

At step 230, when a user attempts to use a feature or function on one ofthe devices, the parental control application checks the parentalcontrol rules prior to allowing use of the feature or function. Forexample, when a user (e.g., a child or teenager) attempts to use amultitasking application such as a gaming application, the parentalcontrol application (e.g., the standards based parent controlapplication 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) checks the parentalcontrol rules based on the identity of the user authenticated via theparental control application.

At step 235, the parental control application determines whether the useof the feature or function on the device is to be blocked or allowedbased on the parental control rules. For example, when the parentalcontrol rules state that such a feature or function is to be blockedduring a specific period of time or prior to a specific task beingcompleted and the present time is within the specific period of time orvalidation of completion of the task has not been received, the parentalcontrol application (e.g., the standards based parent controlapplication 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) blocks the use of thefeature or function on the device. On the other hand, when the parentalcontrol rules state that such a feature or function is to be blockedduring a specific period of time or prior to a specific task beingcompleted and the present time is outside of the specific period of timeor validation of completion of the task has been received, the parentalcontrol application (e.g., the standards based parent controlapplication 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) allows the use of thefeature or function on the device.

At step 240, when the parental control application determines the use ofthe feature or function on the device is to be blocked, the parentalcontrol application blocks the use of the feature or function on thedevice. In embodiments, when the feature or function is blocked, theuser may receive an error message, and the error message may includedetails on the parental control rule being enforced such that the usercan be informed as to what needs to be done (e.g., complete task A) tohave the feature or function allowed on the device.

At step 245, when the parental control application determines the use ofthe feature or function on the device is to be allowed, the parentalcontrol application allows the use of the feature or function on thedevice. In embodiments, the parental control application willcontinually or periodically monitor use of the device and makedeterminations on blocking or allowing of additional features orfunctions attempted to be used by the user on the device and/or whetherthe current use of the device continues to comply with the parentalcontrol rules.

The advantage of the aforementioned computing system 100 and process 200for centrally managing and implementing parental controls is that itwill eliminate the technical problems of having to manually configureeach device with the parental controls. For example, implementations ofthe present invention provide a technical contribution over conventionalparental control systems and methods because the technical features ofthe present invention interoperate to configure parental controls at acentral location and subsequently publish the parental controls to eachregistered device within a network. Each registered device is thereafterenabled to allow or block various usage of the devices based on thepublished parental controls.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 300 for task basedvalidation in accordance with aspects of the present invention. At step305, a user may create an account or log into an existing account on acentralized parental control system. At step 310, a user may registerone or more computing devices with the centralized parental controlsystem using their account. Steps 305 and 310 are performed in a similarmanner as previously discussed with respect to steps 205 and 210 of FIG.5, and thus the details of steps 305 and 310 will not be repeated.

At step 315, a user may define parental control rules within thecentralized parental control system to control multitasking activities.For example, a user (e.g., parent or guardian) may use the Web interfaceof the centralized parental control system (e.g., centralized parentalcontrol system 105 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) to define differenttime or task based parental control rules to control multitaskingactivities on the registered devices from a standard Web browser usinghttp/https protocol. In embodiments, the workflow for defining parentalcontrol may include adding one or more activities in sequence withAND/OR logic. For example, if a child completes Math, Science, and(Drawing or General Knowledge), then the child will be allowed to play agame for 30 minutes.

In additional embodiments, while creating parantal control logic, a usercan also add aggregated activity completion logic. For example, in anyweek, if a child completes 15 Math problems with complexity 10, and 20drawings, then the child is allowed to purchase entertainement onlinesuch as one online movie. In this case, weekly activity will beaggregated and accordingly the child can earn points for purchasing theonline entertainment. A user (e.g., parent A) can also share anyparental control rule(s) with other users (e.g., parent B), accordinglythe other users can use the same predefined parental control rules orcustomize the predefined parental controls rules to fit their own needs.Moreover, digital computing devices can create an impact on a user'seyes, thus users can utilize the parental control rules to controlaggregated usage of multiple devices. For example, a user may definethat only 2 hours of digital screen time is allowed per day (e.g., atablet+TV is 2 hours a day). If the child uses 1 hour and 30 minutes onthe tablet, then the child will be allowed to watch TV for only 30minutes before the parental control blocks screen time on the tablet andTV.

At step 320, the defined parental control rules are published from thecentralized parental control system to the devices. For example, thecentralized parental control application 110 (e.g., centralized parentalcontrol application 110 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) will use thenetwork management protocol to publish the defined parental controlrules to the parental control application (e.g., the standards basedparent control application 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) on eachof the registered devices. In embodiments, the publishing the parentalcontrol rules to the devices causes the parental control rules to beenabled on the devices. In other embodiments, the parental control rulesare enabled by the standards based parent control application (e.g., thestandards based parent control application 120 discussed with respect toFIG. 4).

At step 325, a user may complete a task and log into a task validationsystem using a task validation application to validate completion of thetask. For example, a user (e.g., a child or teenager) may log into atask validation system (e.g., a task based validation application server115 as discuss with respect to FIG. 4) via a task validation application(e.g., a part of the standards based parent control application 120discussed with respect to FIG. 4 or a separate third party applicationsuch a school based web page interface for submission of homework)installed on a computing device (e.g., one of the registered devices).In embodiments, the user may use one or more features on the one or moreregistered computing devices that are not disabled from the parentalcontrol rule to complete the task.

At step 330, the task is submitted to the task validation system via thetask validation application for validation. For example, a user (e.g., achild or teenager) may perform any type of validation required for thecompleted task and submit the validation via the task validationapplication (e.g., a part of the standards based parent controlapplication 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4 or a separate thirdparty application such a school based web page interface for submissionof homework). In embodiments, the type of validation perfumed andsubmitted may include taking an electronic quiz pertaining to the taskand submitting answers via the task validation application, uploading ahomework assignment, requesting a manual check of completion of thetask, etc.

At step 335, the task validation system determines whether the task iscompleted. Depending on the type of task performed, as noted above withrespect to FIG. 4, different checks will be performed to validate thetask is completed. For example, a requirement to provide answers toquestions in an electronic quiz can be implemented via the task basedvalidation application server to validate that a task has beencompleted. Additionally, a requirement for submission of an assignmentcan be implemented via the task based validation application server tovalidate that a task has been completed. Moreover, a requirement formanual validation by a user or third party can be implemented via thetask based validation application server to validate that a task hasbeen completed. In embodiments, the task validation system is furtherconfigured to create or update a validation status for the task based onthe completeness determination. For example the validation status for atask could include not submitted (default status), submitted butvalidation failed (e.g., missing information, validation criteriafailed, etc.), and submitted and validation approved.

At step 340, the centralized parental control system determines whethercompletion of a task has been validated. For example, the centralizedparental control system (e.g., the centralized parental control system105 as discussed with respect to FIG. 4) may be configured to subscribeto a messaging system with the task validation system (e.g., a taskbased validation application server 115 as discuss with respect to FIG.4) to receive a status of the task validation. In this instance, thetask validation system would publish messages including the validationstatus to a messaging system queue/topic. In embodiments, the validationstatus for a given user and task could have different states includingnot submitted, submitted but validation failed (e.g., missinginformation, validation criteria failed, etc.), and submitted andvalidation approved. In accordance with this aspect of the presentinvention, the centralized parental control system would be a consumerapplication to messages for the messaging system queue/topic and wouldcheck the status of the task for a given user/assignment for taskvalidation.

In additional or alternative embodiments, the centralized parentalcontrol system (e.g., the centralized parental control system 105 asdiscussed with respect to FIG. 4) may be configured to perform a servicerequest to check on the status of the task validation. For example, whenthe task validation is completed, the status of the task validationwould be defined within the task validation system. The centralizedparental control system can be configured to perform a service requestwith the task validation system to check the status of the taskvalidation. There are a number of ways the service request could beinitiated. For example, the service request could be initiated on atimed interval (e.g., every 5 minutes check status), or an initialparent control check of task validation status by some other means(student, parent, etc.).

At step 345, when validation has failed, the centralized parentalcontrol system sends an alert or message to the user of the registereddevice that the validation has failed. For example, the centralizedparental control system (e.g., the centralized parental control system105 as discussed with respect to FIG. 4) may be configured to sendand/or display a message (e.g., an email message) to a user of theregistered device that submitted the task for completion validation whenvalidation has failed. The message would indicate the validation failed,and optionally, details on the reason(s) the validation failed, e.g.,page count of assignment was below or above specified range for theassignment.

At step 350, when validation has been approved, the centralized parentalcontrol system performs a check of the parental control rules todetermine whether any additional requirements or task(s) must becompleted and validated prior to disabling the parental control rules.For example, the centralized parental control system (e.g., thecentralized parental control system 105 as discussed with respect toFIG. 4) may be configured to check all parental control rules set up fora particular user to determine whether any additional task(s) must becompleted and validated prior to disabling the parental control rules.

At step 355, when there are additional task(s) that must be completedand validated prior to disabling the parental controls, the centralizedparental control system will continue to monitor the status of taskvalidations as discussed in step 340. In embodiments, the centralizedparental control system (e.g., the centralized parental control system105 as discussed with respect to FIG. 4) may be further configured tosend and/or display a message (e.g., an email) to a user of theregistered device that additional task(s) still need to be completed andvalidated prior to the disabling of the parental control rules on aspecified device.

At step 360, when there are no additional task(s) that must be completedand validated, a parental control disable command is published from thecentralized parental control system to the registered devices. Forexample, the centralized parental control application 110 (e.g.,centralized parental control application 110 discussed with respect toFIG. 4) will use the network management protocol to publish the parentalcontrol disable command to the parental control application (e.g., thestandards based parent control application 120 discussed with respect toFIG. 4) on each of the registered devices.

At step 365, the parental control application on each registered devicereceives the parental control disable command and disables the parentalcontrol rules on each registered device for the given user. For example,the parental control application (e.g., the standards based parentcontrol application 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) on each of theregistered devices receives the published parental control disablecommand and disables the parental control rules on each device for thegiven user based on the command.

At step 370, a user may log into one or more of the registered devices.For example, a user (e.g., a child or teenager) may log into one or moreof the registered devices via the parental control application (e.g.,the standards based parent control application 120 discussed withrespect to FIG. 4) installed on each of the registered devices. Inembodiments, the parental control application includes an authenticationrequirement feature whereby a user of each of the devices needs toidentify themselves such that proper parental controls can be applied toeach of the devices. The usage of the devices by the user is nowcentrally managed via the parental controls published to each of thedevices.

At step 375, when a user attempts to use a feature or function on one ofthe devices, the parental control application checks the parentalcontrol rules prior to allowing use of the feature or function. Forexample, when a user (e.g., a child or teenager) attempts to use amultitasking application such as a gaming application, the parentalcontrol application (e.g., the standards based parent controlapplication 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) checks the parentalcontrol rules based on the identity of the user authenticated via theparental control application.

At step 380, the parental control application determines whether the useof the feature or function on the device is to be blocked or allowedbased on the parental control rules. For example, when the parentalcontrol rules state that such a feature or function is to be blockedprior to a specific task(s) being completed and the parental controlrules have not been disabled, the parental control application (e.g.,the standards based parent control application 120 discussed withrespect to FIG. 4) blocks the use of the feature or function on thedevice. On the other hand, when the parental control rules state thatsuch a feature or function is to be blocked prior to a specific taskbeing completed and the parental control rules have been disabled, theparental control application (e.g., the standards based parent controlapplication 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) allows the use of thefeature or function on the device.

At step 385, when the parental control application determines the use ofthe feature or function on the device is to be blocked, the parentalcontrol application blocks the use of the feature or function on thedevice. In embodiments, when the feature or function is blocked, theuser may receive an error message, and the error message may includedetails on the parental control rule being enforced such that the usercan be informed as to what needs to be done (e.g., complete task A) tohave the feature or function allowed on the device.

At step 390, when the parental control application determines the use ofthe feature or function on the device is to be allowed, the parentalcontrol application allows the use of the feature or function on thedevice. In embodiments, the parental control application willcontinually or periodically monitor use of the device and makedeterminations on blocking or allowing of additional features orfunctions attempted to be used by the user on the device and/or whetherthe current use of the device continues to comply with the parentalcontrol rules.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 400 for time basedvalidation in accordance with aspects of the present invention. At step405, a user may create an account or log into an existing account on acentralized parental control system. At step 410, a user may registerone or more computing devices with the centralized parental controlsystem using their account. Steps 405 and 410 are performed in a similarmanner as previously discussed with respect to steps 205 and 210 of FIG.5, and thus the details of steps 405 and 410 will not be repeated.

At step 415, a user may define parental control rules within thecentralized parental control system to control multitasking activities.For example, a user (e.g., parent or guardian) may use the Web interfaceof the centralized parental control system (e.g., centralized parentalcontrol system 105 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) to define differenttime or task based parental control rules to control multitaskingactivities on the registered devices from a standard Web browser usinghttp/https protocol. In embodiments, the workflow for defining parentalcontrol may include adding one or more activities in sequence withAND/OR logic. For example, if a child completes Math, Science, anddrawing or general knowledge, and the current time is not between 11 PMand 8 AM, then the the child will be allowed to play a game for 30minutes.

At step 420, the defined parental control rules are published from thecentralized parental control system to the devices. For example, thecentralized parental control application 110 (e.g., centralized parentalcontrol application 110 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) will use thenetwork management protocol to publish the defined parental controlrules to the parental control application (e.g., the standards basedparent control application 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) on eachof the registered devices. In embodiments, the publishing the parentalcontrol rules to the devices causes the parental control rules to beenabled on the devices. In other embodiments, the parental control rulesare enabled by the standards based parent control application (e.g., thestandards based parent control application 120 discussed with respect toFIG. 4).

At step 425, the centralized parental control system determines whetherthe current time is within or outside of the parental control rules. Forexample, the centralized parental control system (e.g., the centralizedparental control system 105 as discussed with respect to FIG. 4) may beconfigured to compare the current time to each time requirement definedwithin each parental control rule.

At step 430, when the current time is within a time requirement of aparental control rule, the centralized parental control system continuesto monitor the current time with respect to that parental control rule.At step 435, when the current time is outside of a time requirement of aparental control rule, the centralized parental control system performsa check of the parental control rules to determine whether anyadditional requirements must be completed prior to disabling theparental control rules. For example, the centralized parental controlsystem (e.g., the centralized parental control system 105 as discussedwith respect to FIG. 4) may be configured to check all parental controlrules set up for a particular user to determine whether any additionaltask(s) must be completed and validated prior to disabling the parentalcontrol rules.

At step 440, when there are additional requirements that must becompleted prior to disabling the parental controls, the centralizedparental control system will continue to monitor the status of taskvalidations as discussed in step 340 in FIG. 6 and the current time withrespect to that parental control rule. In embodiments, the centralizedparental control system (e.g., the centralized parental control system105 as discussed with respect to FIG. 4) may be further configured tosend and/or display a message (e.g., an email) to a user of theregistered device that additional requirements still need to becompleted prior to the disabling of the parental control rules on aspecified device.

At step 445, when there are no additional requirements that must becompleted prior to disabling the parental controls, a parental controldisable command is published from the centralized parental controlsystem to the registered devices. For example, the centralized parentalcontrol application 110 (e.g., centralized parental control application110 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) will use the network managementprotocol to publish the parental control disable command to the parentalcontrol application (e.g., the standards based parent controlapplication 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) on each of theregistered devices.

At step 450, the parental control application on each registered devicereceives the parental control disable command and disables the parentalcontrol rules on each registered device for the given user. For example,the parental control application (e.g., the standards based parentcontrol application 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) on each of theregistered devices receives the published parental control disablecommand and disables the parental control rules on each device for thegiven user based on the command.

At step 455, a user may log into one or more of the registered devices.For example, a user (e.g., a child or teenager) may log into one or moreof the registered devices via the parental control application (e.g.,the standards based parent control application 120 discussed withrespect to FIG. 4) installed on each of the registered devices. Inembodiments, the parental control application includes an authenticationrequirement feature whereby a user of each of the devices needs toidentify themselves such that proper parental controls can be applied toeach of the devices. The usage of the devices by the user are nowcentrally managed via the parental controls published to each of thedevices.

At step 460, when a user attempts to use a feature or function on one ofthe devices, the parental control application checks the parentalcontrol rules prior to allowing use of the feature or function. Forexample, when a user (e.g., a child or teenager) attempts to use amultitasking application such as a gaming application, the parentalcontrol application (e.g., the standards based parent controlapplication 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4) checks the parentalcontrol rules based on the identity of the user authenticated via theparental control application.

At step 465, the parental control application determines whether the useof the feature or function on the device is to be blocked or allowedbased on the parental control rules. For example, when the parentalcontrol rules state that such a feature or function is to be blockedduring a specified time period and the parental control rules have notbeen disabled, the parental control application (e.g., the standardsbased parent control application 120 discussed with respect to FIG. 4)blocks the use of the feature or function on the device. On the otherhand, when the parental control rules state that such a feature orfunction is to be blocked during a specified time period and theparental control rules have been disabled, the parental controlapplication (e.g., the standards based parent control application 120discussed with respect to FIG. 4) allows the use of the feature orfunction on the device.

At step 470, when the parental control application determines the use ofthe feature or function on the device is to be blocked, the parentalcontrol application blocks the use of the feature or function on thedevice. In embodiments, when the feature or function is blocked, theuser may receive an error message, and the error message may includedetails on the parental control rule being enforced such that the usercan be informed as to what needs to be done (e.g., complete task A) tohave the feature or function allowed on the device.

At step 475, when the parental control application determines the use ofthe feature or function on the device is to be allowed, the parentalcontrol application allows the use of the feature or function on thedevice. In embodiments, the parental control application willcontinually or periodically monitor use of the device and makedeterminations on blocking or allowing of additional features orfunctions attempted to be used by the user on the device and/or whetherthe current use of the device continues to comply with the parentalcontrol rules.

The advantage of the aforementioned computing system 100 and processes300 and 400 for centrally managing and implementing parental controls isthat it will eliminate the technical problems of having to manuallyconfigure each device with the parental controls and the inability tovalidate that a task has been completed prior to usage of the device forone or more multitasking activities. For example, implementations of thepresent invention provide a technical contribution over conventionalparental control systems and methods because the technical features ofthe present invention interoperate to enable or disable parentalcontrols based on time or task validation using a centralized computingenvironment to improve the concentration level of users (e.g., childrenand teenagers) without taking away the ability of the users to use thedevices for purposes of school work.

As mentioned herein, the flowchart and block diagrams in the Figuresillustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possibleimplementations of systems, methods and computer program productsaccording to various embodiments of the present invention. In thisregard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent amodule, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or moreexecutable instructions for implementing the specified logicalfunction(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur in variouscombinations across the processes 200, 300, and 400 without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example,parental control rules defined by a user that include both time and taskbased requirements may implement processes across all three processes200, 300, and 400.

In embodiments, the invention provides a method that performs theprocess of the invention on a subscription, advertising, and/or feebasis. That is, a service provider could offer to provide for centrallymanaging parental controls and/or validating completed tasks to enableor disable the parental controls. In this case, the service provider cancreate, maintain, support, etc., a computer infrastructure, such ascomputer system 12 (FIG. 1) that performs the processes of the inventionfor one or more consumers. In return, the service provider can receivepayment from the consumer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreementand/or the service provider can receive payment from the sale ofadvertising content to one or more third parties.

In still another embodiment, the invention provides acomputer-implemented method for centrally managing parental controlsand/or validating completed tasks to enable or disable the parentalcontrols. In this case, a computer infrastructure, such as computersystem 12 (FIG. 1), can be provided and one or more systems forperforming the processes of the invention can be obtained (e.g.,created, purchased, used, modified, etc.) and deployed to the computerinfrastructure. To this extent, the deployment of a system can compriseone or more of: (1) installing program code on a computing device, suchas computer system 12 (as shown in FIG. 1), from a computer-readablemedium; (2) adding one or more computing devices to the computerinfrastructure; and (3) incorporating and/or modifying one or moreexisting systems of the computer infrastructure to enable the computerinfrastructure to perform the processes of the invention

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method implemented in a computer infrastructurehaving computer executable code tangibly embodied on a computer readablestorage medium having programming instructions operable to: publishparental control rules to each of one or more computing devices toenable the parental control rules on each of the one or more computingdevices, wherein at least one of the parental control rules includes arequirement that a task be completed prior to allowing use of one ormore features or functions on the one or more computing devices;determine whether completion of the task is validated; and when thecompletion of the task is validated, publish a parental control disablecommand to each of the one or more computing devices to disable the atleast one of the parental control rules published to each of the one ormore computing devices, wherein the validation of the completion of thetask is performed automatically by a task based validation applicationserver, wherein, in response to the validation of the completion of thetask by the task based validation application server, a validationstatus for the task is created or updated, and wherein the programminginstructions are further operable to send a message or alert to a userthat submitted the task for validation of completion in response to thetask being incomplete and not validated, the message or alert indicatinga reason the validation of completion failed.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the programming instructions are further operable to: create anaccount for one or more users; register the one or more computingdevices with the account; and generate the parental control rules forthe one or more computing devices based on input from the one or moreusers.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one of theparental control rules includes the requirement that the task becompleted prior to allowing use of the one or more features or functionson the one or more computing devices.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinthe determining whether the completion of the task is validatedcomprises: (i) subscribing to a messaging system to receive a status oftask validation, or (ii) performing a service request to check on thestatus of the task validation.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein thestatus of the task validation is the task has not been submitted forvalidation, the task is incomplete and not validated, or the task iscomplete and validated.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theprogramming instructions are further operable to determine whether thereare any additional time or task requirements that must be met prior todisabling the at least one of the parental control rules, when the taskis complete and validated.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein theprogramming instructions are further operable to continue monitoring forat least one of: (i) completion of the at least one additional taskrequirement is validated, and (ii) a current time is outside of the atleast one time requirement, when there is at least one additional timeor task requirement.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein a serviceprovider at least one of creates, maintains, deploys and supports thecomputer infrastructure.
 9. A computer program product for disabling atleast one parental control rule on a computing device, the computerprogram product comprising a computer readable storage medium havingprogram instructions embodied therewith, wherein the computer readablestorage medium is not a transitory signal per se, and the programinstructions are readable by the computing device to cause the computingdevice to perform a method comprising: enabling one or more parentalcontrol rules on the computing device, wherein at least one parentalcontrol rule of the enabled one or more parental control rules includesa requirement that a task be completed prior to allowing use of one ormore blocked features or functions on the one or more computing devices;allowing use of one or more allowed features or functions on thecomputing device to complete the task; submitting the task to a taskvalidation system to validate the task is completed; and when the taskis completed and validated, receiving a parental control disable commandand disabling the at least one parental control rule to allow use of theone or more blocked features or functions, wherein: in response to thesubmitting the task to the task validation system, task validation isperformed automatically by a task based validation application server,in response to the validation of the completion of the task by the taskbased validation application server, a validation status for the task iscreated or updated, and in response to the task being incomplete or notvalidated, a message or alert indicating a reason validation ofcompletion failed is received.
 10. The computer program product of claim9, wherein when the task is incomplete or not validated, blocking use ofthe one or more blocked features or functions based on the at least oneparental control rule.
 11. The computer program product of claim 10,wherein the task is a completion of an assignment, the at least oneparental control rule is a completion of the assignment prior to use ofthe one or more blocked features or functions, and the one or moreblocked features or functions are at least one of: watching television,playing a game, and listening to music.
 12. A system comprising: a CPU,a computer readable memory and a computer readable storage medium;program instructions to receive parental control rules for one or morecomputing devices, wherein at least one of the parental control rulesincludes a requirement that a task be completed prior to allowing use ofone or more features or functions on the one or more computing devices;program instructions to publish the parental control rules to each ofthe one or more computing devices to enable the parental control ruleson each of the one or more computing devices; program instructions todetermine whether completion of the task is validated; and programinstructions to when the completion of the task is validated, publish aparental control disable command to each of the one or more computingdevices to disable the at least one of the parental control rulespublished to each of the one or more computing devices, wherein: theprogram instructions are stored on the computer readable storage mediumfor execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory, thevalidation of the completion of the task is performed automatically by atask based validation application server, in response to the validationof the completion of the task by the task based validation applicationserver, a validation status for the task is created or updated, and thesystem further comprises program instructions to send a message or alertin response to the task being incomplete and not validated, the messageor alert indicating a reason the validation of completion failed. 13.The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one of the parental controlrules includes the requirement that the task be completed prior toallowing use of the one or more features or functions on the one or morecomputing devices.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the determiningwhether the completion of the task is validated comprises: (i)subscribing to a messaging system to receive a status of taskvalidation, or (ii) performing a service request to check on the statusof the task validation.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the statusof the task validation is the task has not been submitted forvalidation, the task is incomplete and not validated, or the task iscomplete and validated.
 16. The system of claim 15, further comprisingprogram instructions to when the task is complete and validated,determine whether there are any additional time or task requirementsthat must be met prior to disabling the at least one of the parentalcontrol rules.
 17. The system of claim 16, further comprising programinstructions to when there is at least one additional time or taskrequirement, continue monitoring for at least one of: (i) completion ofthe at least one additional task requirement is validated, and (ii) acurrent time is outside of the at least one time requirement.